FINAL DOCUMENT
International Interconfessional Jubilee Conference “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8): Christianity on the Threshold of the Third Millennium”

International Interconfessional Jubilee Conference
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8):
Christianity on the Threshold of the Third Millennium”
November 22 – 25, 1999, Moscow

FINAL DOCUMENT

The International Interconfessional Jubilee Conference “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8): Christianity on the Threshold of the Third Millennium”, which took place on November 23 – 25, 1999, represented a new stage in the development of interconfessional cooperation in the CIS and Baltic countries. This process began at the Conference “Christian Faith and Human Enmity” (Moscow, 1994) and was continued at the Conference “Called to One Hope in the Bond of Peace” (Minsk, 1996).

Held on the eve of the Great Jubilee of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity in flesh of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, this inter-Christian forum united delegates representing the following Churches and religious associations in the CIS and Baltic countries: Armenian Apostolic Church, Byelorussian Orthodox Church, Byelorussian association of the Church of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists, Supreme Old Believers Council in Lithuania, Georgian Orthodox Church, Old Orthodox Pomor Church in Latvia, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, Eurasian Federation of the Unions of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Transcaucasian association of the Church of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists, Western Russian Union of the Church of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists, Moldavian Union of the Church of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists, Orthodox Church in Latvia, Orthodox Church in Moldova, Orthodox Church in Estonia, Roman Catholic Church, Russian Union of the Christians of the Evangelical Faith-Pentecostals, Council of Old Orthodox Pomor Church in Russia, Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Russia, Russian Old Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Old Believers Church, Union of the Baptists churches in Latvia, Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Armenia, Union of the Christians of the Evangelical Faith in Belarus, Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Estonia, Union of the Christians of the Evangelical Faith in Belarus, Union of the Christians of the Evangelical Faith in the Russian Federation, Union of the Christians of the Evangelical Faith-Pentecostals in Russia, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Ukrainian Union of the Church of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists. Among the participants were representatives of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Orthodox Church of Antioch, Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church in America, World General Conference of the Christians-Seventh-Day Adventists, World Council of Churches, European Baptist Federation, YMCA, Conference of European Churches, Kirche in Not, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, CEEC, SYNDESMOS, EYCE, as well as representatives of Muslims, Buddhists and Judaists.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia welcomed the participants and guests. The Conference was also addressed by the Moscow Mayor Yu. M. Luzhkov.

The Conference received messages of greetings from the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. A message of greetings was also sent by John Paul II the Pope of Rome. The participants expressed gratitude to the churches and international organizations of Christian cooperation represented at the Conference, including Renovabis, Kirche in Not and Eurodiaconia, for their assistance in organizing the Conference and to the Russian Orthodox Church for her hospitality.

In the course of the discussion on the four themes of the Conference, the participants stated their agreement on the following:

1. Theology and Mission
This is indeed the Saviour of the world (Jn. 4:42)

The Jubilee, as it is understood in the Bible and in the Church, is the time of special grace and joy, the time devoted to God. The Great Jubilee of the year 2000, however, is of special significance, for it takes us into a new millennium. At the same time, the forthcoming Jubilee is called to make us more aware of the Second Coming of the Saviour. Let us remember the words of St. Paul: ‘And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed’ (Rom. 13:11).

The Birth of Christ is the centre of the whole history of mankind; it gives it its meaning and a saving value. Jesus Christ is at once the centre of history and its end: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13). All historical events, both before and after the Birth of Christ, are evaluated in the light of His personality and deeds. He imparts his grace to history. This Christological perspective enables us to look at human history in a new way, from the creation of the world through the history of Israel to the life and activity of Jesus Christ, His apostles and His Church.

The Jubilee compels us to a reverential study of the history of Christianity viewed in the light of the great event of the Incarnation – the history of faithfulness to the Word of God, the history of salvation, the history of the beneficial transformation of man and the whole creation of God. Along with good and inspiring examples, the two thousand years of Christianity have also seen many conflicts, which have given rise to prejudices and enmity to last for ages. Christians need to heal their historical memory and to engage themselves in common reconciling studies of history. In the end of the millennium of great Christian divisions, we should realise anew the Lord’s call to unity (cf. Jn. 17:21) in the awareness that the unity of Christians is linked directly with their commitment to God. The closer Christians are to Christ, the closer they are to one another.

The Great Jubilee of the year 2000 should renew in us the understanding of the key truth of our faith that ‘the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (Jn. 1:14), for ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life’ (Jn. 3:16).

The Jubilee should become an occasion for ever more fruitful inter-Christian and interreligious cooperation and help build a basis for its further development. Our Churches and church communities should give an example of mutual understanding and cooperation to society and the world.

Christians should seriously reflect on the problems facing the modern society, about the spread of the evil in the world, about the religious indifference of many people, about the erosion of moral traditions, about the loss of respect for life as the greatest gift of the Creator and for family as the main cell of society.

Modern theology therefore is facing an extremely important task. It should promote the revival and strengthening of faith and the witness to it in the world. In every historical period, theology has helped people to comprehend the will of the Lord Who ‘wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4). The importance of theology grows especially in the times of spiritual crises and cultural changes. However, it should be borne in mind that there is only one truth given by God. Therefore theology, showing the obedience of faith to God, reading the signs of the times, using the achievements of human and natural sciences in the light of Holy Scriptures and personal spiritual experience of Christians, should study, interpret and teach the Truth which is Christ Who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).

Christians today are called to continue the mission of Christ in the world. The light of the gospel should illumine all aspects of human life – family, environment, culture, science, politics, economics, international relations, human rights and peacemaking.

In view of a new millennium we should not forget the testimonies of martyrs. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (Jn. 15:20). The truth of these words of the Saviour has been confirmed by the entire history of Christianity, as martyrs for the faith are the reality of the Church at all times. It was also so in the 20th century, especially in the USSR, where religion was persecuted for over 70 years. The voice of martyrs is stronger than the voice of divisions. The testimony of martyrs belonging to different confessions is our common treasure.

The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 should help us receive the Nativity of Christ in the practice of our daily life as a saving event from which we can draw spiritual strength. In this perspective, the Jubilee is a unique occasion for us to renew and strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ as the true and only Saviour; for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Act 4:11-12).

2. Christianity and Morality
You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world (Mt. 5:13)

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Who “is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Heb. 13:8) is the source and foundation of morality. His injunctions will certainly remain valid in the third millennium, too. As it was before, the transcendent Word of God should be the measure stick of human words and deeds in the ages to come.

Christ has established the love of God and one’s neighbour as the most important principle of building human life (cf. Mt. 22:34-40). The love of one’s neighbour does not and cannot have boundaries, whether national or religious. We live however in a world distorted by sin, in which injustice and enmity are strong. Historically the Christian community has not always been equal to its calling to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”. No difficulties, however, should withhold Christians from efforts to restore society on the principles of Christian morality. Christian communities should first of all give an example of life in peace and harmony among their members and with those around them, offering to the whole world the hope for true fellowship among people.

We are convinced and we agree that it is only the religious dimension of human life that gives a solid basis for corporate and personal morality. We believe that the cause of the present criminalization of society lies not in poor living conditions, nor in imperfect laws or failure to implement laws, but in the gradual weakening of the action of religious and moral law in people’s souls. Human nature, clouded as it is with sin, is not strong enough to restrain human beings from ruinous actions. When human beings lose living relations with God, all moral restrictions vanish.

Peacemaking is an important part of Christian ministry commanded to us by the Lord (cf. Mt. 5:9). We should do everything that depends on us to stop conflicts and enmity, trying to persuade the authorities and conflicting parties of the need to seek peace. The Christian community has already tested various instruments of mediation and dialogue between conflicting parties, but we should be more persistent in our calling to heal tragic divisions in modern society.

We are also convinced that it is categorically inadmissible to use religious sentiments for fanning up hatred and inciting violence.

On the threshold of a third millennium, we are profoundly grieved to observe the destruction of such foundations of social life as marriage and family. We are convinced that it is linked in the first place with the rejection of traditional Christian moral values. In this situation, we cannot look indifferently at the propaganda of depravity which is waged by the mass media and which is fatal for the family and society as a whole.

Christians should give special attention to the problem of injustice in socio-economic relations. Without appropriating the right to make judgement on particular forms of the socio-political system prevailing in society, Christians nevertheless believe it to be their duty to point to the concrete ways in which moral laws have been distorted in economy and labour. When the pursuit of profit becomes a prevailing criterion in economic relations, it leads to the unjustifiably high profits for some people and to impoverishment for others, which is a manifestation of the most extreme forms of egoism.

Christian love of the neighbour is expressed in diakonia and charity. A suffering brother, whoever he may be – a representative of our or any other nation, a person of the same faith or member of a different religious community – should be seen as the suffering Christ Himself. In a society where the criteria of social relations have deviated far from the evangelical norms, Christians are called to be an example of truly godly charity.

A healthy society is possible only in the union and harmony with all God’s creation. Consumer attitude to the environment is deeply immoral and contradictory to the Christian perception of the world as a gift of God to be safeguarded by humanity. Christians are convinced that the commandment given by God in Eden to till and keep the created world (cf. Gen. 2:15) should be normative for human beings in their attitude to creation. At the turn of the millennium, the world is threatened by a global ecological disaster caused by the irretrievable exhaustion of natural resources and the violation of the ecological balance. Humanity is facing really lethal consequences of its economic activity. It is only self-restriction, the outmost economy of resources and the attitude to the environment not as an alien milieu but a gift of God’s grace that can keep humanity from technogenic suicide.

Manifold problems to be faced in the coming millennium compel Christian communities to engage in active cooperation in joint efforts to find an adequate answer to the challenges brought by the new time, to become aware of their responsibility for the destinies of humanity.

3. Inter-Christian Cooperation in the Socio-Political Sphere:
God has called us to peace (1 Cor. 7:15)

The present socio-political situation in the CIS and Baltic countries has features characteristic of a prolonged system crisis, which has hit many aspects of public life. It can be overcome only if the economic problems are solved successfully and the urgently needed political changes are introduced. The time has come to realize that it is a profound spiritual crisis of society that lies in the basis of this critical condition.

Today churches and religious communities are separated from state, but they cannot be separated from society, for they have no right to distance themselves from problems, including political ones, that disturb the people. Christian faith is expressed both in the spiritual life of the individual and in public activity.

At present all churches are facing an acute moral crisis which has hit society gradually losing its fundamental moral guidelines. The serious economic situation has led to mass impoverishment and decreased life expectancy. The least socially protected groups of the population, such as old people, children, disabled and large families have been left to the mercy of fate. Crime is growing; state structures have been eroded by corruption; the methods of shameless slander and moral destruction of rivals have established themselves in the everyday political usage. Drug-addiction and alcoholism are spreading ever more widely, hitting even children and teenagers. At the same time, the stereotypes of cruelty and permissiveness have been instilled in public consciousness. Therefore, it is urgent that Christians in the CIS and Baltic countries should formulate common tasks in resisting the world’s moral suicide. Christian communities in various Churches are called to join efforts for the reconciliation of divided society and for its moral renewal through joint work to protect human life and human dignity. Christianity has always educated people for the love of both their Heavenly and earthly homes. It blesses patriotism inspired by Christian faith and built on the gospel’s principles, while deploring the dishonest play on the ideas of national exclusiveness, xenophobia and hostility towards everything that is different and dissimilar.

In our days, inter-ethnic conflicts and contradictions between the interests of various countries and nations have continued and even grown. The end of this millennium has seen fierce local wars combined with new forms of confrontation in which pressure, aggression and interference in the life of nations have now been realized through political and economic actions. This is why we believe that every nation should enjoy firm guarantees that the identity of its historical road will be protected in its search for peace together with other nations. This compels us to call the governments, parties, influential social forces and the press to take effective care of the education of people for preserving the positive religious and moral ideal and cultural heritage of every nation, without which it is impossible to achieve a dignified future for all.

Our churches do not participate in the political struggle. At the same time, we see no obstacle to cooperation with various political and social forces and those who are ready for an honest and friendly dialogue with us. But it should be cooperation in concrete actions aimed to benefit the people, rather than to promote any private interests whatsoever.

Cooperation among various Christian confessions in peacemaking and social service is of extreme importance. The followers of Christ, building relationships with one another on the basis of mutual respect, should set a living example for politicians and public leaders. What has already been done and is being done in common witness should not be underestimated. Thus the Christian Interconfessional Advisory Committee has proved to be an effective instrument of cooperation in peacemaking. The present aggravation of crises, however, demands that all Christians should engage themselves in ever more intensive cooperation.

The ministry of peace should become today a common cause for Christians of different confessions. In the present situation when they are confronted with a non-religious world, Christians can no longer afford the luxury of using the resources of divided communities. To fulfil their duty before God and people, Christian Churches should themselves set for society an example of reconciled cooperation.

4. Pseudo-religiousity:
Take heed that no one leads you astray (Mt. 24:4)

Throughout the history of Christianity, there emerged and continue to emerge pseudo-Christian sects which, while claiming to be Christian, do not confess Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour, deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, distort Holy Scriptures or replace it with other texts, reject the Holy Baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, encroach upon the sacredness of Christian spiritual and moral ideals, try to review the entire system of Christian values and to destroy Christian way of life. The activity of these cults and sects violates the spiritual and physical integrity of the human personality, damages people’s mentality, ruins families, tears children away from their parents and plunges the souls of many people into the darkness of despair. This activity does not only do irreparable harm to the individual and society, but also discredits Christianity.

In our time, the notions of the One True God and man as God’s creation called to fulfil His will are being eroded. In his situation, old gnostic cults have been revived; pseudo-Christian sects like ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ and the Mormons have become more active and the so-called ‘new religious movements’ have emerged. They seek ideological foundations in the modified Oriental religions and turn to occultism, satanism and sorcery. The enemy of the faith of Christ and of our salvation is sowing ruinous seeds of false teachings and heresies everywhere, their followers becoming ever more impertinent and aggressive.

No less destructive for human souls are atheism and nihilism. People in the CIS and Baltic countries are well aware of it, since most of them were educated for the so-called ‘scientific atheism’. Christians know only too well that a person without God cannot discover the image of God in himself and wanders in the pernicious multitude of various scientific and pseudo-scientific hypotheses and theories. The greatest paradox of the modern educated humanity has manifested itself as vividly today as never before. It lives in an era of scientific progress and the triumph of technological civilization, on the one hand, while witnessing a time of flourishing occultism and the return of paganism and old Oriental cults, on the other. Astrology has become widespread as well, but in our time it seeks to acquire a pseudo-scientific form.

We cannot but admit that we are partly to blame for the spreading of pseudo-Christian sects and cults, as people sometimes have fallen away from the faith because of our poor educational efforts and the lack of zeal in our care for the flock. Divisions among Christian have also created preconditions for the spreading of pseudo-Christian teachings. Christians should warn the world that occultism and adherence to false teachings are dangerous for people’s freedom and for their spiritual and physical health.

It is quite clear that our opposition to the spiritual aggression should be expressed in ways acceptable to Christians. We cannot and should not respond by force. Our response should lie in the fulfilment of our pastoral duty performed with humbleness and pure hearts. Our response is the development of community life in all areas, sincere charity and care for those who suffer and the thoughtful religious education of children and adults. The most important thing is to actively preach the word of God to those who are near and those who are far, tirelessly reminding the children of God of the commandment given by St. John the Theologian: ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols’ (1 Jn. 5:21). Sometimes our efforts to oppose the spiritual aggression of ‘new religious movement’ have been met with reproof by liberal politicians and public figures as a violation of the freedom of conscience and an attempt to restrict the individual freedom. But freedom does not mean that everything is permissible. The truth of Christ, which ‘makes us free’ (Jn. 8:32), places on us the great responsibility to respect and protect the freedom of others. It is precisely the aggressive imposition of ruinous views and principles that violates Christian and civil freedoms.

The redemptive feat of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has been performed for all and each. It means that the doors of repentance are always open to the lost and sinners, and none of them is lost for the mercy of God and the good answer at the Last Judgement of Christ. We pray for those caught in the nets of the enemy of the human race that they may come to reason and for the prodigal sons and daughters that they may soon return to the House of their Heavenly Father. We consider the God-given freedom of choice as an invaluable gift to man, and we respect the right of every person to enjoy this gift. At the same time we, members of the Christian community, state unanimously our choice for the freedom to defend tirelessly and everywhere the Name of God from slanderers, from those who commit sacrilege and from false teachers by bringing the Word of Christ’s Truth into the world.

Conclusion

Gathered in the hope for peace and good on the eve of the Great Jubilee of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, we, representatives of various Christian confessions, are determined to work for overcoming the existing divisions by following together along the road of cooperation and Christian witness.

We hope that the new millennium will not become a post-Christian era, but will be marked with a new spring of Christianity. We are strengthened in this hope by Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world Himself, Who is “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever”.

Concrete proposals
from Round Tables registered by the Drafting Committee

1. To begin dialogue under the CIAC to discuss major problems faced by Christian confessions in the CIS and Baltic countries. An important role in this dialogue should be given to youth, especially students of theological schools.

2. To consider joint efforts for the improvement of the moral health of society.

3. To set up a standing commission under the CIAC to study sects and ‘new religious movements’. This commission should include experts in this field from various confessions.

4. To ask the CIAC Presidium to complete the work on the CIAC status as soon as possible.

5. To appeal on behalf of the CIAC to appropriate structures and mass media, especially television, to promote by all possible means our efforts to introduce children, youth and society as a whole to Christian moral values.